Scan the clientele at any of Sanibel Island’s higher-end restaurants and you’d never guess there’s the same level of wealth here as in Florida counterparts such as, say, Palm Beach or Naples. But there is a good chance that the fellow clad in a polo shirt, shorts, and—gasp—flip-flops is a billionaire. This Gulf of Mexico barrier island, off the coast of Fort Myers, is a dress-down sort of place, so laid-back that even folks from Palm Beach and Naples come here to turn off, tune out, and relax.
Sanibel has but a few fancy galas or jacket-required restaurants. When residents do turn out en masse, it’s usually to volunteer at the Big Arts cultural center or to line Periwinkle Way for the homegrown Fourth of July parade.
Sanibel and, to the immediate north, Captiva Island foster a genuine sense of community that even part-time residents quickly tune in to. They like the islands for what they don’t have: neon, buildings over three stories, or a single traffic light. There’s also a void of national franchises—"formula" stores, as city ordinances define them—and false pretense, even though noteworthy residents include "Today Show" weatherman Willard Scott and former CIA director Porter Goss.
"People are friendly and very neighborly," says Jane Reader Weaver, a decades-long resident and owner of Royal Shell Real Estate. "We have a very accepting, island-casual culture. No one’s trying to outdo each other."
Deeply ingrained in the community spirit is a sense of volunteerism. No fewer than 250 volunteers help coordinate Big Arts’ wintertime offering of educational programs, art exhibitions and classes, concerts, and an übersuccessful speakers series. "These dedicated volunteers make Sanibel so unique," says Ken Colter, a builder and a Realtor with John Naumann & Associates. "A lot of our winter residents are involved in their communities back home and will get involved in Sanibel during the winter. They’ll even fly in for an event."
Nature, however, is the prime attraction throughout Sanibel’s 17.5 square miles, where a series of low-lying causeway islands and bridges skim turquoise-hued water and link to the mainland. Seventy percent of the island is untamed Florida wilderness, including the sprawling J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge with an eight-mile Wildlife Drive that delivers up-close-and-personal encounters with resident alligators, pink-tinged roseate spoonbills, and the occasional wood stork and mangrove cuckoo. Of course, there are also the powder-soft, world-famous Gulf of Mexico beaches, always a little less crowded, thanks in part to the $6 cover charge—aka bridge toll—onto the island.
"You cross that causeway and there’s a feeling of peace," says Weaver. "It’s quiet, serene, and the stars are beautiful at night. Sanibel is one of the most natural places left; it truly is one of a kind."
Island homes also capture the connection to nature, showcasing untouched tropical foliage along with access to the water, along bays that open to Pine Island Sound or direct frontage along the Gulf. "Water is the ultimate amenity," says Weaver. "People want water, whether a bay or canal for a boat or sunsets over the Gulf."
To paraphrase recent vacation-home buyer and State College, Penn., resident Kevin Murray, Sanibel offers a Caribbean experience without a passport. The owner of a company specializing in emergency communications and preparedness, Murray has traveled the country helping municipalities with their 911 systems. That expertise brought him to Sanibel several years ago.
"I drove over the causeway and was reminded of my Caribbean vacations," he recalls. "I never knew this place existed. It was pretty amazing, just so beautiful."
Easterners like the Murrays have long accounted for Sanibel’s legions of loyal second-home buyers, and current home prices, now 30 percent less than during the height of the boom, are fueling many retirement dreams come true. Sanibel also is attracting more families. Carlton and Mary Byrd, the parents of 12- and 16-year-old boys, discovered Sanibel on vacation more than 15 years ago.
"We fell in love," says Carlton, a professor of wellness at Broward College on Florida’s east coast.
"Sanibel is just different than the other coast," says Byrd. "It’s so peaceful and calm. And unlike the east coast of Florida, we get a chance to see sunsets here."
POPULATION: 6,469 (2010 census)
MEDIAN AGE: 60.5 years
RANGE OF LUXURY REAL ESTATE: Mediterranean architecture is a little passé here. Instead, buyers are gravitating to the breezy porches, tin roofs, and lap siding of the Old Florida look or "cottage" style. With up to six bedrooms, 6,000 square feet, and price tags hovering around $4 million, these three-story homes are anything but quaint bungalows. Ken Colter’s American Gallery Homes is offering new two- and three-bedroom pool homes priced from $680,000. Luxury three-bedroom condos, in low-density developments with pools and private tennis courts, are priced between $1.5 million and $2.7 million for Gulf views, according to Cathy Rosario of Royal Shell Real Estate. You’ll pay $3 million for a 4,000-square-foot condo in South Seas, a gated resort/community occupying Captiva’s northernmost tip. Single-family homes on Captiva, often bearing seafaring names and hidden behind dense landscaping, are generally more expensive than those on Sanibel because of fewer building restrictions and larger lots that accommodate guesthouses and provide additional privacy.
COST OF LIVING INDEX: 101 (U.S. average 100)
WHO YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE: Internet entrepreneurs, Wall Street retirees, and Fortune 500 CEOs are still here, but price shifts and the acclaimed 100-year-old kindergarten-through-eighth-grade Sanibel School have brought more families, as well as buyers planning ahead for retirement. Captiva is a part-time home for many affiliated with the Boston Red Sox; the team conducts its spring training camp in Fort Myers.
AN IDEAL DAY: Follow breakfast at the Lighthouse Cafe with a shelling excursion in the shadows of the nearby 115-year-old Sanibel Lighthouse. After lunch at Keylime Bistro along Captiva’s Andy Rosse Lane, explore the neighboring galleries and boutiques or browse the new shops at Tahitian Gardens in Sanibel. Watch the sunset from the Mucky Duck dining room or join the majority of island residents at Traders, a favorite dining destination on Sanibel.
THE DREAM HOME: The pale yellow Victorian-inspired architecture of this $18 million gated estate on Captiva has earned it the name "Mellow Yellow." The five-bedroom home has marble and hardwood flooring, a music room, chef’s and catering kitchens, a guest cottage, and a Gulf-to-bay setting that gives it both beach and deepwater boat frontage, a rarity here.
